MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill that prohibits transferring to foreigners genetic data obtained from Russian citizens.

The amendment to the Federal Act on State Regulation in the Field of Genetically Engineered Activities was initiated by the Russian government.

It prohibits "the transfer of a person’s genetic data, obtained as a result of populational genetic and/or immunological research to foreign individuals and legal entities, to branches of foreign legal entities on the Russian territory, to representatives of the above-mentioned legal entities on the Russian territory, to foreign governments, and to individuals and legal entities outside the territory of the Russian Federation," the document says.